Climber to speak out about cheating death

AFTER climbing a new route up the world’s highest mountain, reaching the summit alone without oxygen

AFTER climbing a new route up the world’s highest mountain, reaching the summit alone without oxygen and surviving a record bivouac at 28,000 feet, you might think Stephen Venables would have decided to hang up his boots.

Far from it. Record-breaking success on Everest was just the preparation for many more adventures around the world.

Today Stephen is one of the most well-known and respected mountaineers of his generation. He is a past president of the Alpine Club and the South Georgia Association, as well as being an accomplished writer, broadcaster and public speaker.

Now he is coming to the Kenton Theatre to give mountaineering fans a first-person account of how he narrowly cheated death in the Indian Himalaya — illustrated with a host of stunning images.

When an abseil anchor failed, he plummeted 300 feet down the mountain and found himself with two broken legs on a remote glacier 5,800 metres above sea level.

Luckily, he was with four of the best Himalayan climbers in the world, including Chris Bonington.

Other enthralling stories in Stephen’s talk include first ascents in Nepal, rock climbing from the Arctic to the Namib desert — and his most recent sailing expeditions to the coastal mountains of Tierra del Fuego, South Georgia and Antarctica.

Climbing with such legendary figures as Chris Bonington, Reinhold Messner and John Roskelley, and following in the steps of explorers like Ernest Shackleton, Stephen continues to embrace a life of adventure amongst some of the most remote, beautiful landscapes on earth. His appearance in Henley on Wednesday, October 28, at 7pm is the first in a series of seven autumn talks around the country in support of Community Action Nepal (CAN).

A UK-based charity, CAN was founded more than 20 years ago by the mountaineer Doug Scott CBE and climbing friends to provide poor communities located in the remote Middle Hills and mountainous regions with long-term support.

The 40-plus projects include health posts, schools and porter rescue shelters. Many of the projects were badly damaged or destroyed in the recent earthquakes, leaving the communities traumatised.

CAN is now working to support the communities in the current emergency and rebuild all the projects in an appropriate and earthquake-resilient manner.

Tickets for

Life After Everest — the Adventure Continues by Stephen Venables are priced £15, with concessions available.

To book, call the box office on (01491) 575698 or visit www.kentontheatre.co.uk